


When it really wasn't "an end of the world kind of thing"

by writingwithmycat



Category: The Order (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Slow Burn, The Order, really freaking slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 11:08:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24968707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingwithmycat/pseuds/writingwithmycat
Summary: "“She’s a drug. An enigma. She pulls you in. And she’ll crush you.” He sifted. “She doesn’t mean to. I’ve loved her like a sister for over ten years and will keep doing so forever. That’s why I came again. I’ll always come. No matter what happens.” A single tear ran down his face. “She’s broken, Hamish. And if you keep going down that road, you’ll be broken too.”After all of the events of the past year, the order has to start to rebuild itself. Old order members and friends of the Grand Magus return to help. The Knights and the practitioners must travel to find The key to the center of the temple. Hamish, though, has bigger problems than just the quest of finding the key. Set after season two, following the relationship between Vera & Hamish
Relationships: Hamish Duke/Vera Stone
Comments: 126
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have taken the liberty of changing the storyline. Lilith was not rescued (at least not yet ;)), and the relationship between Vera and Hamish has not yet happened; the scenes where Randall teased Hamish and the scene of Hamish taking care of Vera do exist in my storyline, but their relationship does not exist further than that. Vera also got her powers back when Alyssa died. The storyline is set after season two, but the first chapter quickly explains the current point of events and gives a backstory to the real fic. 
> 
> Now that the boring stuff is stated, welcome back to Vermish land! This will be a mixture of angst and fluff, mostly revolving around our two main characters. English is technically my first language, but I am not used to writing/working in it so please excuse my not-so-good writing.
> 
> Apart(!) of this chapter was already published under a recent title, but I had to repost it and add the missing part...
> 
> DISCLAIMER: this is based on a Netflix original show and I am doing this for fun, without profit  
> DISCLAIMER 2: this work has adult content, please only read if you are over the age of 18

” Bring something in a tall glass”, she stated as she turned on her heel and disappeared into the office.

Hamish stared at her – he hadn’t even considered his question before blurting it out, and now she had actually accepted it. As he desperately tried to figure out what he could possibly make her (- It would have to be at least as good as the earlier one! -), he kept reminding himself that playing a dumb and unaware acolyte was a keystone of their plan. That plan however, did not require making drinks to the cold Magus if there was nothing to gain from it, and the plan sure as hell shouldn’t include him stressing over making sure that one Vera Stone would absolutely love the drink. He stared at the wall of the bar for a solid thirty seconds before deciding on another bourbon-based drink. On his way to the Grand Magus’ office, he stopped to check himself from his phone’s front camera. He tried pushing a few extra hairs around, eventually giving up. He entered the office as the Magus opened the doors with magic, already knowing that Hamish would be behind them.

Hamish made his way to the apartment much slower than he had anticipated. When he had brought the drink to the Magus, he hadn’t really been expecting anything – it was a simple delivery after all. The Magus had swiftly waved him off after getting her drink and returning to her work. Hamish felt disappointed. He couldn’t quite comprehend why, for what was he expecting? She was, after all, Vera Stone, the cruel and cold-hearted bitch, that had taken away their memories. Immediately after his thought Hamish felt a sting in his chest, reminding himself that no matter how well deserved his hatred for the Magus was, derogatory and sexist terms were not needed.

He arrived at the apartment, even more annoyed –now though, mostly at himself- and rushed to his friends, who looked just as annoyed. He answered their questions with fumbling answers knowing, that his friends did not believe them, and that they would revisit the topic again later. Right now, he was going to focus on the demon problem. The plan was foolish, and he knew it, but at this point, he was willing to do anything to get back at the order and Vera Stone.

Between the escape of the demon, the hostage situation in The Commons, Jack turning to wood, them making the deal with the order, Alyssa switching sides, the virus and Salvador and her organization, Hamish had not had any time to think about Vera Stone. Obviously, he had been involved in all of the events, and listened to Randall’s annoying teasing, but The Magus had not been on his mind otherwise. Now, however, things were different. After failing to rescue Lilith the house had become quiet. All of them still kept looking for options, but everyone slowly started to accept the truth of Lilith not coming back. Hamish spent most of his time in his room reading or pondering about the Praxis with The Order members. The Magus was not present in any of these meetings, and the word was that she was visiting the other temples. Things slowly returned to normal. Sure, Jack was still down about Alyssa, and adjusting to Gabrielle Dupres was taking its time. She was, after all Gabriel Dupres, which really didn’t need much more explaining.

The Knights were no longer angry at the Grand Magus; they were not pleased with all the choices she had made in the past but had learned to understand her leadership and morale. She truly did care about her people, and all though sometimes she did not-so-ethical things, those were often necessary situations where she was able to make the right call. Many of The Order member’s, however, were not that fond of the Knights. Even though they did have a common goal, many of the other members still wanted to keep the werewolves on the outside. The Knights didn’t really care, as they mainly kept to themselves.

There was over two months of silence from The Magus. But boy, when she returned, did things start happening.


	2. The arrival

Hamish was not pleased with his students. He threw the half-graded essays onto the coffee table and sighed. Things were very slow and dull, and Hamish found himself bored on many occasions. The Knights did not have much work to do, unless there was a magic tourist in town, which really did not happen very often. Most of the days Hamish stayed inside, trying to keep up with the workload. The spring semester was nearly at its end and that meant huge amounts of grading. Jack and Randall were either in classes or trying to study, which usually somehow ended in beer pong. Hamish sometimes participated in the game, but mostly kept to himself. He sighed and put down his glass of bourbon, listening to the laughter of the other Knights. As Hamish made his way downstairs, he could make out the conversation between the three college kids.

“I swear to god, even fake-dating Jack was better!”, Gabrielle stated in her usual manner while Jack expressed his hurt feelings behind her. Gabrielle shot up the stairs, without sparing Hamish a second glance, and hurled into what had now become her room. Randall shook his head and sat down. “How the hell should I have known that it would rain? Besides, it was a perfect date idea!” he said, while looking completely confused.

“I have found,” Hamish said when walking up to the small bar “That often, inviting people on dates and then surprising them with the information of them hafting to pay for their own half does often not go well.” Jack snorted, while Randall started defending himself. “I paid for lunch! Besides, I’m a college student, I can’t afford buying things like amusement park tickets all the time!” Hamish smiled. “Maybe you should try something else? Often things that don’t cost that much money are more unique and interesting anyway.” Randall sighed, and slid into the depths of the chair. “Ok, give me ideas then!”

Their date planning came to an abrupt end when their phones binged. Hamish pulled out his phone.

07:28 Nicole, to Hamish:  
 _GM is returning and is requesting all of you to immediately return to the temple._

Jack groaned. “It’s like seven thirty in the morning! She’s the head of the university, anyway, shouldn’t she be more concerned about us getting to class?”  
Class or no class, all four of them found themselves walking up to the temple just before eight. Hamish noticed a weirdly large number of cars parked outside of the building and wondered who else was coming to the Temple. Was this something concerning the whole order? As they entered the temple, they found most of their fellow order members already there. There was a weird buzz in the air, and people seemed to be very excited. Nicole rushed to them through the crowd.

“You are not going to believe this!”  
Gabrielle immediately sparked up at the sign of gossip, while the others just raised their eyebrows. “Why is everybody so excited? Just because The Grand Magus is back?” Randall asked. Nicole shook her head. “No. I mean yeah, sure, that’s cool too, but not THAT cool. There are people from the other Temples here! And not just some random transfers, but actual big names!” That caught the interest of everyone else as well, and Gabrielle looked like she was about to jump Nicole for more information. “Who? And why didn’t you warn us, I would NOT have worn this dress!”

Nicole didn’t have the time to answer before Gabrielle made a squeaky noise and pointed to the door with a shaking finger. “Dayyan fucking Almasi IS NOT “other people” Nicole!” she whispered. Hamish was pretty sure she would pass out any second from the sheer excitement. All five of them looked at where Gabrielle was still pointing. Leaning against the desk of the Magus there was a tall man. He was dressed in a very good suit, which Hamish immediately noticed, and seemed to be looking at a book that was on the desk. He had dark skin, and short black hair, on top of which there was a pair of glasses. The man, Almasi, was quite handsome. He had a symmetric face that had a kind look on it, and his toned body left no need for imagination. Apart from this man’s features, though, Hamish had absolutely no idea who he was. He shot a questioning look to Gabrielle, but she seemed preoccupied with drooling over the handsome, mysterious character. Jack jumped in.

“He’s from the DC temple – some kind of hotshot man, big in the order’s book”. Gabriella hurled around, suddenly very alert, and gave Jack that “you uncultured foolish boy”-look, and took a deep, angry breath before launching into a full lecture.

“He is most certainly not a hotshot! He is a full legend. He is not only known for inventing spells – which in itself is insanely hard, I don’t think even Vera or Coventry could to that – but also developing new magical theories. He is very involved in politics as well and has published several books” Gabrielle took a breath before continuing. “I have no idea why he is here though, wasting his time on us…I’m sure he has better things to do than fix our mess of a temple which our Grand Magus so quickly abandoned to go on an adventure after all that happened.” Gabrielle looked back at them and was disappointed to see their lack of enthusiasm. “Don’t any of you have any idea how big of a deal this is? You morons.”

Hamish ignored the following conversation about whether or not Randall was a moron for not knowing this and focused looking around the room. He couldn’t see Vera anywhere, and found himself a tad disappointed. He dismissed the feeling quickly as he found other, unfamiliar faces. There was a woman in her late thirties with a strawberry blond short haircut. She was overlooking the room from a dark corner, where she was nearly completely hidden away. No other Order members seemed to have spotted her. For a moment Hamish pondered on whether he should leave her in peace but eventually his curiosity took over. He walked over to the woman who was now focusing her attention to Gabrielle, whom was actively scolding the boys.

“Good morning, is this seat taken?” Hamish asked in a polite manner. The woman examined him with a stern look. “Mr. Duke?” Hamish gave her a surprised look, but she only extended her hand, and introduced herself. “Alma Bjurstrom” She had a bit of an accent; which Hamish could not place. “A rather uncommon name here, Ma’am. May I ask where you are from?”

Bjurstrom looked at him with a cool face, and Hamish started regretting his little adventure. Just when he was about to apologize for disturbing her peace and leave, the woman spoke up.  
“Sweden. And before you ask, no, there is not a temple there, but yes, the order still operates there.” A field agent, Hamish thought to himself. Before Hamish could say anything else, Bjurstrom nodded curtly and Hamish took it as his cue to leave; the conversation was done.

“I’m looking forward to working with you. I hope you uphold the image I have of you.”

Hamish looked back, but the woman had already returned to examine the room again. He had no idea what the woman spoke of; Were people speaking about him in Sweden? He didn’t understand why that would be the case. Of course, The Magus could have said something to her, but what would she have said… He was just another order member, even with the werewolf inside of him. Hamish shook his head and returned to his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise we will see Vera soon! :) still setting up the backstory, so we are moving a little slow right now.. again, please comment your thoughts, I love to read them!


	3. The visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning; this is gonna be a long story, I hope you'll have the patience to follow with me :) slowburn is my sin.

In the following half an hour two other new people showed up. Hamish recognized one of them from the Gnostic council; she was a recent addition from the Seattle Temple, and if he understood correctly, originally one of their own and now a talented practitioner. She was in her late thirties as well, and Hamish started wondering if she had joined the order during the same time as the Grand Magus; as a matter of fact, all of the unknown faces were around the same age… Were they all old friends of the Magus? Is that where she had been? The fourth person Hamish could not recognize; he was a redheaded man wearing a leather jacket. All four of them had disappeared into the Magus’ office and closed the door behind them.

“Any guesses on what’s going on?” Randall asked. Hamish shook his head.  
“I have a feeling all of them already know each other, probably from the Order.”  
“Yes, this I did figure out. But like, why are they here? The Magus hasn’t been here for like, months, and now these people show up. What is the order scheming around on again?” Randall paused, realizing they were now part of the order themselves. “Shit.” Jack laughed. “I remember you specifically pondering on whether you should call Vera mom or not. Where’s that excitement now?”  
“Freaking Alyssa! I did NOT mean that!”  
Wait, what? Randall better truly be joking, otherwise they would be in deep shit.  
“Yeah Randall, maybe you should try it, see if she lets you live”, Selena called across the room.

“Highly unlikely, Mr. Caprio. I suggest you try no such thing.”

Shitshitshitshit.

There she was, standing right by the doorway, magnificent as ever. How the hell did she always manage to make such a dramatic entrance? Randall shot up. “My apologies, dearest Vera. I mean Grand Magus.” Hamish sent him a kick under the table as Vera gave him one of her famous you-will-die-in-the-next-ten-seconds stare.

“If you all manage to behave yourselves, please gather around the altar.” She then disappeared into her office, closing the doors with a bang.

“Dude, you are so dead.”  
“Nah, she’s got a soft spot for me. I’m good. I think. I hope.”

Hamish felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

08:05 Vera, to Hamish:  
 _Would you mind?_

Hamish stood up and excused himself. A few minutes later he was knocking on the door of the office with five drinks on his tray. As he walked in, he paid close attention to what was going on in the room. They were all sitting around the desk, but they weren’t working on anything. It actually looked more like a friendly reunion. The Magus looked up to him.

“Would you stay for a minute?”  
Hamish nodded, and set down the tray. She motioned him to sit down. He felt a tad bit awkward, but sat down anyway, waiting curiously for an explanation on what was going on.  
“Mr. Duke. Please meet Professor Dayyan Almasi, Alma Bjurstrom, General Klaus Vodel and Doctor Angela Fernandez. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Hamish Duke, leader of the Knights of Saint Christopher and one our newest members in the order.” All right, Mr. Duke sounded a lot more official than the normal “ACOLYTE” or whatever she wanted to call him at the moment. Hamish nodded to each of them.

“Now, we wished to talk to you before talking to anyone else.” Hamish perked up as The Magus spoke. “During the last year we have had quite the adventures, and right now our temple is missing some of its key people among other things. With so little of the older members we cannot keep training younger members on to needed levels, which is why- “She looked to the other people – “I have invited these practitioners here to help in rebuilding this unit. They are my trusted friends and colleagues, and I believe we will work together well.”

Okay, this made a lot of sense… He had been wondering on how this was all going to keep going with people literally dying. But why were they telling him this? As on que, General Vodel spoke up.  
“Because of your position with the Knights you are at an important place for us.”  
When had they gone from wanting to kill all werewolves to “important place”? But again, his question was already answered before he even opened his mouth, this time by Doctor Fernandez.  
“Despite what a lot of the Order members seem to think these days, the Knights and the Order have always worked closely. The Knights are, yes, underneath the command of the Order, but still work as a separate unit to ensure that they were able to monitor things from inside without personal gain or feelings. Tundra has commonly been the contact between the two, and we wish that you would like to continue this work.”

Hamish only nodded, listening to what was coming next.

“When rebuilding this unit, this will be a very important key factor.” The Magus looked at him, and Hamish felt like she looked right into her soul. How the hell was she able to have that effect on him? Damned eyes.  
“I’m open to the idea of working together, but I’m also sceptic of this plan – we are not exactly in the good graces of the order right now.”  
The Magus shook her head. “That will change with time. Right now, they are mainly jealous because of how quickly you have risen amongst our ranks.”  
Did she really not understand how much the other members despised them? Hamish nodded to the others.  
“May I speak of this with the others?” He directed the question at the Magus.  
“Yes. Though I ask of you to please keep this to yourselves; your position might cause… certain questions rising, and I’d like to avoid that for now.”  
This was completely understandable, and Hamish agreed.

The Magus motioned for them to move back into the hall and Hamish followed. As he stepped through the door, he spotted his friends staring at him and scurried over.  
“Dude, why the hell are you playing bus boy to her again? You still haven’t gotten over it?”  
Ah, the ever so charming Randall. Hamish shot him an angry look. “It was Knight stuff. I’ll tell you later. And shut up.”

People begun to gather around the altar, and when they finally became quiet, they begun the introductions and explaining the reasoning behind their new guests. This time however, the Knights were not mentioned, and Gabrielle shot him a wondering glance. How were they tied to this?  
Hamish zoned back into the conversation when The Magus spoke up.

“We have been granted with a rare possibility of meeting such successful practitioners. I hope you will all use this chance and learn something; each of our guests are the top of their fields. They will be staying with us and acting as mentors and teachers. Do not overlook this chance. Now, you are all invited to a little soirée this evening, where we shall welcome our guests in proper manner. Do make sure to attend.”

A buzz went through the people; not only were these highly ranked order members but also interesting people in their own ways. Also, to be frank, drop dead gorgeous and hot. General Vodel was a military member and archeologist. It was only to be assumed that he was doing research of the history of magic on the behalf of the order. The military, however, Hamish didn’t quite understand. The Generals specialty, among, well, doing General stuff, was close combat, and Hamish didn’t quite understand why the order had use for such a man.

Doctor Fernandez worked in the archives and vaults of the order, researching magic and its history. Although her and the general’s positions seemed alike, his work was out in the field, and she focused more on literature. She wore a leather jacket and black jeans, and Hamish was pretty sure he also saw a gun on her waist. Contradictory to her tough look, her eyes were quite warm and welcoming; she had a pretty, smiley face.

Hamish did not learn much more about Professor Almasi, though he did note the man’s low and calming voice. He took an instant liking to the man; he seemed like a kind but stern father figure. Apparently, he worked at the DC temple personally training order members that went into more advanced magic. Hamish did not know why he hadn’t realized this earlier, but obviously the rest of the units were not connected to schools; this was the starting point for many of the members and the other temples focused on different things; of course the whole order could not run with college children like the one in Belgrave did.

The Swedish woman barely spoke during the entire time. It wasn’t clear why she was here: no special skills or career paths were mentioned, she just existed in the background. Hamish assumed that whatever she did in the field was not public, and that she probably had an ace or two up her sleeve.

As the knights made their way back, Hamish explained what he had learned earlier.  
“Wait, what the fuck? We are actually supposed to be equal. What the hell was all that talk from Vera earlier about us being under her foot?”  
“Well, Randall, if she had given us all free hand earlier, we would be dead now. The situation is different now; we no longer have a vendetta against the order.”  
“True. Kiss-ass.”  
“Shut up, Randall.”


	4. Goody two-shoes Magus

“Hamish Duke!”  
“…yes?”  
“Can you help me with choosing a dress? Those two keep saying they are the same color.”  
“You are aware that “those two” find sweatshirt appropriate daily wear?”  
“Hence why I am here.”  
“Well, in that case, let me see.”  
Gabrielle and he had found a funny but working rhythm. They didn’t hang out much but seemed to understand each other quite well. It is hard to say which one of them was more shocked by this realization.  
“What are you going to wear? It isn’t every day that you get to hang out with people like those four.”  
“You are a part of two secret organizations. One might argue that you are “people like those”.”  
“Mm-hmm. Not really though.”  
“And to answer your question, I am yet to figure that out. I suggest you spend more time making sure that your boyfriend won’t wear the “Yass, Taco Thursday” -shirt than wondering about me.”  
“He wouldn’t really do that, though”  
“Are you willing to bet on it?”  
“You know what, it doesn’t hurt to make sure.”

It was raining, and they decided to take Hamish’s old Toyota to the Temple. Gabrielle’s nervousness had grabbed onto him as well, and he had tried on three different suites. Finally, they were all packed in the car, and as Gabrielle proudly noted, there were no huge fashion disasters there. Hamish considered this a big win. When they entered the temple, they found themselves to be one of the last to arrive. Nicole waived from the bar and they walked over to her, Hamish immediately taking his place from behind it. He didn’t mind spending time there during the parties; it gave him a bit of personal space. Besides, making drinks based on guessing from the character of a person was fun.

“You missed the Magus’ speech.” Nicole smiled.  
“Was it one of the normal, dramatic ones?”  
“Randall!”  
“What? It’s not like I’m wrong.”  
“She’s actually a good speaker when she wants to!”  
“You SO have a thing for her.”  
“No, I just like well-articulated and intelligent speakers.”  
“Mm... especially when they have dark hair, long legs and big blue eyes?”  
“Can you two please shut the fuck up? Somebody is going to hear and think that there is actual truth to this. Besides, you are being highly inappropriate!”  
“Thank you, Gabrielle.”

Speaking of the devil, the four guests and The Magus caught Hamish’s eye. And well, he had to admit, Randall was not wrong about her being gorgeous. She was wearing a black dress, which wrapped around her neck, and, to Hamish’s sudden breath intake, left her back open. Her hair was tied up into an elegant twist, decorating her face with those iconic red lips. She was absolutely stunning. His investigation was cut short when Jack spoke up.  
“She has a tattoo?”  
She did indeed. Hamish could not make it out, but there was something drawn onto her upper back. Hamish stared at it and thought about how very soft and silky her skin looked.  
“Dude.” Gabrielle whispered. “Get it together. Also, if you look at her ass again, I’m gonna kick yours.”  
Shit. Damned wandering eyes. He tried focusing on the other four, and even though they couldn’t quite match up to Vera Stone, they were not far behind. Before he could assess them any closer, (Hamish was always fond of analyzing what a person’s looks and clothes told about them.) the group dissolved as they all went into different directions.

Hamish mostly kept to the bar, making up drinks with the flow, and trying to not look for a pretty black dress in the crowd, and preferably not the owner of the pretty black dress either. He had succeeded quite well in his mission, until he picked up a conversation from a nearby table. He spotted the General with Selena, a few older members and Gabrielle and Randall sitting a tad bit too close to each other. He heard Gabrielle speak to the General.  
“So, you were all here during the same time as students?”  
“Yes. Quite a long time ago, although seeing their faces and being here makes it feel like a memory from yesterday.”  
“Wait, you knew each other as college kids?” Hamish did not like the way Randall asked the question.  
“Yep. After college we migrated our own ways and haven’t kept in touch much.”  
“Well”, Gabrielle said with that cute smile of hers, “I’m very glad you all decided to come back for a while, sir.” She was trying too hard, and Hamish waited to see his reaction. The general snorted.”  
“When Grand Magus Vera Stone shows up in your trailer in west Ethiopia, one does simply not just decline. Not that I wanted to.” Well there was the answer to Hamish’s unasked question: The Magus had indeed been traveling to gather her friends. Why she did it in person and not over the phone, this Hamish did not know.  
“Oh, you must have been good friends if you came here all the way from Africa!” The man smiled at Gabrielle.  
“Yes, although “good friends” was not from my lack of effort.”  
“Wait, you had a crush on her? Did she know?” Gabrielle immediately covered her mouth, but her curiosity had been too quick. Everyone in the conversation tensed: they didn’t know what to expect next. But the man surprised them all as he started laughing.  
“Who doesn’t? I have never met a person in my life that did not “have a crush on her”, as you so sweetly put it, Miss Dupres.”  
Gabrielle looked like she was about to jump out of her chair. Hamish felt like jumping over the counter as well, but his reasons were different. Most of the reasons included violence. But before Hamish went full wolf on his new friend, The Magus herself interrupted the conversation, somehow appearing from the shadows and giving everyone else expect the General a heart attack.

“You know, Klaus, I would appreciate it if you kept your stories about me to yourself.” She was very much not pleased, and Hamish couldn’t tell whether he was sad or happy about not hearing more of the Generals story.  
“Ah, Vera, don’t be a spoil sport. You have become boring! Where are all the shenanigans? You must not let all your young students think that you are a dull person with no life, do you remember everything that happened during our time here?”  
“I am a boring person with no life these days. And some of us have morals, Klaus, and therefore do not participate in your so-called shenanigans.”  
“Are you suggesting that I don’t have good morals?”  
“I have, sadly, a very clear image of finding you having a threesome on the altar, so, you tell me.”  
“...ah yes, I suppose that would count as immoral, wouldn’t it? But you are not seriously saying that you have become one of those goody two-shoes Magus’?”  
She looked like he was going to either kill the man or die herself.  
“Yes. I am. Now for the love of god, I prefer to keep things professional here, Klaus.”  
“Damn. Well, at least you have got a cute little bartender boy for yourself, you have even a little taste.”  
“I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You.”  
“You say that to me every time we meet and are yet to deliver.”  
“I think I might this time. Besides- WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?”  
Every single student scurried away, not wanting to be under her wrath, while the General laughed in the background. The Magus looked at him, clearly considering murder, and then, to Hamish’s shock, laughed and sat down next to the man.  
“You do that again you are seriously doomed.”  
“Yeah, yeah, sorry. I just had to. Besides, they got to remember that you are a person as well!”  
“I prefer a reign of terror, thank you very much, it keeps everything in check.”  
As the discussion went on onto leadership issues, Hamish looked down at his hand and was surprised to find it covered in blood: the glass he was holding had exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, I am the queen of cliche.


	5. Spilling tea

Hamish fled from the main room, holding onto his bleeding hand, not wanting to cause a scene. Randall spotted him as he was scurrying into the Grand Magus’ office and followed quickly.  
“Dude, what the hell happened?”  
“The glass broke into my hand, nothing much, I’ll heal quickly.”  
“Ok, fine, but guess what? We were talking with the General, and boy, did he have tea to spill. Apparently, the Order was much cooler back then, and like, it’s so weird to think that Vera has been a college kid like us, can you believe it? I’m so going to get some stories out of him, I want to know what our dear Grand Magus has been up to.”  
“Or maybe you could just let it be, this is her work environment and she should get to decide what is put out there.”  
“Dude, you are so, so boring. Why do you have to be so damn responsible all the time? You are becoming like Vera, all professional and shit.”  
“Church and State, Randall.”  
“What?”  
“I mean you should keep personal life and work like separate.”  
“That… is not what church and state means, smarty-pants.”  
“Nevertheless, you got my point.”  
“Maybe. Still going to see what kind of juicy stories I can pull out of them. This, as Vera Stone said herself, is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe just not the way she intended. Come on, aren’t you at all curious about what she is actually like under the cold shell? She has got to have something interesting in her. Like maybe she collects weird little cat plates or something.”  
“I’m pretty sure that that was Umbridge from Harry Potter. I hope your dislike of her has not gotten to that level.”  
“Nah, she is cool and all these days. So maybe something else, like Salsa dancing or something. Anyway. It isn’t like we are going to get to ask. And you always want to know more.”  
“Why would I want to know more?”  
“Because you, Hamish Duke, are a big, fat fan of gossip. Don’t even try to deny it. So, are you in?”  
“…What the hell. Sure.”  
“NOW THAT’S THE SPIRIT. Let’s get some tea on our boss, ay?”  
“We shall see. Hey, do you know why I’m not healing?”  
“No idea. Does Tundra know anything?”  
“Nope. You know any spells?”  
Randall gave him a sarcastic smile.  
“Yes, because I’m such and active and studious order member, remember?”  
“Mm. Right. My bad.”  
“You know, maybe you should ask Gabrielle, she might know. Or, considering that you are still bleeding, I might fetch her.”

But before Randall managed to move, the door opened, and they were confronted with Vera Stone.  
“What is your little band scheming on now?”  
“It’s just the two of us this time.”  
“I’ve learned that you manage to do quite enough damage in smaller assemblies as well, Mr. Carpio.”  
“We do have a talent for that, yes. But right now, we are only sitting here, not doing anything wrong, and definitely not planning anything.”  
“Considering that you have entered my office without my permission, I’d say you’ve already done something wrong.”  
Randall stuttered, and Hamish spoke up.  
“That’s on me, I had a little bit of an accident and didn’t want to cause a scene.”  
“Care to elaborate, Mr. Duke?”  
Hamish simply lifted his hand, and Vera gasped.  
“Are you bleeding on my handmade Italian rug?”  
“Jeez, boss. I’m glad to see you have your priorities in order.” Hamish scowled at Randall.  
“Yes, I do. How did you manage to screw up this time?”  
“A glass broke, and I’m not healing properly for some reason.”  
“Yeah, well the glasses are enchanted so we can use them as a weapon in case of a break in.”  
“What?”  
“Okay, that’s kind of cool, I gotta say. I mean a little extra, but hey, it is the Order we are talking about.”  
She stared at them, with a mixture of pity and frustration.  
“…you were joking.”  
“How insightful you are. And the wound is not healing, because you most likely have some glass in the cut; the werewolf is waiting for it to be removed. You morons.”  
“Oh. Well that makes sense too. Not as cool though.” Hamish wanted to strangle his friend. The increased amount of violence in his thoughts was a bit unnerving, but he decided to ignore that for now.

The Magus motioned for him to get up, while simultaneously staring at the blood on the carpet and muttering. Hamish decided to not try and understand it. She grabbed his bleeding hand and Hamish was surprised to find that her touch was actually quite gentle. She whispered a spell, which Hamish was not familiar with, and he then felt little pieces of glass move out of the cut.  
“Oh. Thank you.”  
She did not respond, and Hamish and Randall took this as their que to leave.

“I’m so done with fancy order parties. What is wrong with old fashioned beer?” Jack immediately pulled of his tie, throwing it on the sofa in the living room of the den.  
“Ah, my friend, you do not have class.”  
“Since when have you started to like suite events, Randall?”  
“Since I found the open bar, duh. Besides, this way we get to watch our cute little bartender boy in action.” Randall winked at Hamish, who forced a laugh.  
“That was, so, fricking weird. Like why did he say that? He really doesn’t seem like a classy person at all.” Gabrielle looked astounded.  
“Wait what?”  
“Well, Jack, sit down and let me tell you a little about what you missed tonight” Randall patted the sofa next to him. Jack raised his eyebrows. Hamish decided to leave, as he did not need to live through this again. He decided to go to bed early after reading a few not-so-good essays. He dreamt of an unknown woman in a black dress. She danced around the altar, which was covered in kittens.

01:27 Vera, to Hamish  
 _I apologize for the Generals comment about you. Highly inappropriate. Realized later that you most likely overheard the conversation._

07:45 Hamish, to Vera  
 _No problem._

Since when had she started apologizing? Not that Hamish minded the politeness. He wanted to say that the comment really had not bothered him but couldn’t figure how to say it without sounding weird, so he stuck with a simple, professional reply.

08:01 Vera, to Hamish  
 _Temple, 4 pm. Do not be late. Bring your little club._

08:01 Hamish, to Vera  
 _👍_

08:02 Vera, to Hamish  
 _Don’t 👍 me, magistratus_

All right, back to normal.

“So now we have two tutors? Our original ones and now you?”  
“Don’t think of us as tutors, Mr. Carter. More as teachers. You simply have one assigned to you, to make sure everyone gets just as much as the others.”  
“Home-room teachers? What is this, junior high?”  
“If you want to think of it as such, sure.”

They had all been divided into small groups between the four guests. The idea was that the experienced practitioners could get to know their students and figure out how to best teach them. The groups also made it easier with reorganizing the temple: it was still quite the mess, and now each group had their own job. Nicole had ended up with Doctor Fernandez in the library, Gabrielle with General Vodel in the altar room (Hamish felt angry when he looked at the man), Jack with Professor Almasi in the reliquary and Randall with Bjurstrom to god knows where. Their clique had been completely broken up, but when paying close attention Hamish noticed this to be the case with everyone else as well. Hamish smiled; it was 101 group building. For the first time, the Order was actually making them work together. As he watched Jack and Angus sneer at each other in Almasi’s team, it became quite clear that getting them to working together would be a long ride. Almasi had quite the job.

As the call of names stopped, Hamish realized that his name had not been called at all. He ignored his friend’s weird looks and focused at the guests. The Magus rarely made mistakes thus he trusted that there was a reason for this. She seemed to have the ability to read minds, because again, as if on que, his phone vibrated.

16:08 Vera, to Hamish  
 _My office. Bring drink._

16:09 Vera, to Hamish  
 _Make on for yourself as well, you’ll need it_

16:09 Hamish, to Vera  
 _👍_

16:10 Vera, to Hamish  
 _Magistratus!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think :) I especially enjoy writing their text messages


	6. How it all begun

“Don’t ask anything, I’ll answer your questions in due time. First of them, I assume, being, “why am I here and not with the others?”

“Yes.”

“Technically, you are an order member of the same status with your friends; however, in practice, you are not a school kid but more of a colleague and I will treat you as such. You are the link between the Knights and the Order; not one of our students.”

“… you are aware that you literally just texted me “magistratus”?”

“Shut up. I’ll keep doing that for as long as I please.”

“I suspected so.”

“Now, please sit, Mr. Duke. We have a lot to talk about.”

“We do?”

“Do you recall the mess that our little demon... escapade caused?”

“It’s rather hard to forget about.”

“It is indeed. Now, what do you know about our temple?”

“Nothing much after the obvious: it’s a sacred building that has been around for several hundred years.”

“Do you know what the significance of it is?”

“I’ve learned that Cults often have main hubs where they practice from.”

“Yeah, that too.” Vera sighed. “But we also have an actual reason for having the building and the altar room.” “Besides the drama?” “Besides the drama. You know, Mr. Duke, you are starting to sound a lot like your friend Mr. Carpio.”

“Possibly so.”

“Now, what is not public knowledge -you will keep this to yourself or so god help you- is that there is a reason why the Temple is built here. Magic has a tendency of… being drawn to other magic, hence why the order is so powerful; we support each other’s magic. Now, over the years it was noted that the more powerful magic there is around, the more powerful the spell work is. For some reason there are different geographical places that magic seems to prefer; in the US we have temples built at some of the locations. Early Order members built the Altar to give the location a center. It is a “hub of magic” if you will, storing knowledge and spell work from over the decades. Every spell done near it adds to its collection. That’s why we do most of our incantations there, the altar amplifies it.” She stopped, to stare into her glass, as if she hoped answers would spring from it if she stared at it hard enough. “Now, because magic is magic, it also has a form of consciousness. Don’t misunderstand me; magic has no persona or feelings, but in a way, it is very much alive. When it realized that we were going to tear the temple to pieces, it started protecting itself: the order could rise again, but another temple could not. I believe this was written into the temple as it was built; it seals away the building, so it won’t get harmed. Now, obviously it is not wise to leave such a powerful building unguarded, and as a part of the sealing process the temple also ties down the magic; the altar goes to sleep, and this becomes an ordinary place.” She played with her drink.

“Quick question: Why did the order need all the magic hubs to itself?”

“I assume the hidden question is why did the order find it to be their right to harness these places and the magic in them?”

“yes.”

“When has man not wanted own or to claim, Mr. Duke?”

“So, the Order figured out that this would be the best way to gain power?”

“The order has always been prone to power lust. This, however, was not the only reason. Do you think that the early order members were the first to find the centers of magic?”

It took Hamish a moment, and then he felt his stomach clench.

“The following is my own speculation, keep that in mind. History is always defensive of the winner. But I assume that the early members found it their right to claim the hubs, and then proceeded to build the temples. I assume that they were really just scared that someone else could even touch the hubs, bloody fools. Later they spread onto rest of earth, but the US was most certainly the starting point. It is my belief that the Order in its whole was created to “protect” these temples.”

Hamish stared at the oak table. “And now you lead the same organization.”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t have a problem with it?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Yet you stuck around.”

“Because if I didn’t, there would be a lot of other people in for the job. I’ve always had a problem with the order, it’s as crooked as they come.”

Oh. That too, was a new twist.

“Why do you think Kepler was out for my head? She always knew that I wasn’t really on the same page.”

“Then why did you stay, if you knew how horrid the order was?”

“Call me a fool, but it gave me hope, thinking that I could do even a little. Do you have any idea how deep in the government the order is? How much it affects us?”

“You _are_ a fool; it sounds like a person that is trying to defend their actions that they know to be wrong. Anyway: Aren’t you technically the boss?”

“It is rather naïve of you to believe there aren’t people above me.”

There was a silence, which Hamish broke eventually.

“So, our magic is now in lockdown?”

“Yes. It is indeed.”

“I assume they built a backdoor. Otherwise saving the building would not benefit much, now would it.”

“Yes. There is a key of a sort, that the Temple hides, only revealing its location to the Temple Magus or whoever is the closest to that position. It is said that the key releases the power of the altar, and the temple will regain its power.” '

“And you know where it is? Why haven’t you retrieved it?”

“The word revealing was not a good choice from me. More like a bag full of fucking weirdass clues. Why do you think I gathered up the people I most trust and find competent?”

“So, you found it?”

“We’ve located it. But I can’t retrieve it. The one thing the order did do right was understanding their power lust, even if this realization only lasted a moment. After the first crisis with the Vade Macum happened, they also made sure that a rogue order member wouldn’t use the orders weak moment to their own gain and get the key to their own benefit.”

“I have an idea where this is going.”

“I had a feeling you would. They, once again, needed an outsider party, who did not benefit from the order. So, they made sure that the key could only be retrieved by the outsider judge’s approval and company.”

“Let me guess, they gave that job to the Knights as well?” “

Yes.”

And Hamish already knew what she would say next.

“I need your help in retrieving it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all missed the memo about this being slowburn, here it is again. Anyway, I'm interested in exploring the order more in depth; this is just my version of how magic and the order works. And honestly? I could totally see the order claiming the magical centre of theirs and then building a cult around it... anyway :) let me know what you think of my theories!


	7. The Plan

Hamish hadn’t slept all night. He stared at the ceiling, deep in thought. The Grand fucking Magus had asked him to accompany her on a wild goose chase. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. The woman was insanely powerful and influential, and somehow, they had ended up around the same table, as equals. Or, at least almost. As equal as someone could be with someone like her.

He had no idea what to think. He had always known that the order was full of shit, but somehow hearing Vera conform it had made it so much more real. He had thought about it, and realized he believed what she had told him. He had learned to trust her; she had sacrificed so much for the good of others and had gone to insane lengths to protect them. And now it was his turn to help her. And this was really not for her benefit, he reminded himself. She was doing this for the Order. Although the thought of him actively helping the order nagged at his heart, he remembered her words. _“Call me a fool, but it gave me hope, thinking that I could do even a little.”_ And Hamish realized he had already made his decision.

04:54 Hamish, to Vera

_I’m in_

04:54 Vera, to Hamish

_How very nice of you. Could your grand announcement have perhaps waited for the morning?_

Oh yeah. Hamish nearly apologized but then decided to test the waters. If Vera truly held him as a colleague and equal, certainly a little workplace teasing was alright?

04:55 Hamish, to Vera

_I’m only following your example, ma’am_

04:55 Vera, to Hamish

_Don’t make me regret asking you_

04:56 Hamish, to Vera

_I don’t believe you really had a choice ;)_

04:57. Vera, To Hamish

_12, tomorrow, temple._

Hamish laughed to himself. This was most certainly going to be interesting.

Hamish woke up to Randall jumping on his bed.

“Where the hell were you last night?”

“Vera and I discussed Knight and Order history and stuff. I learned a lot; I’ll tell you guys later.”

“Oooh, now it’s Vera and I, is it?”

“...Is that really what you picked up from this whole thing?”

“Hell yeah! So, you just discussed Order stuff? Boring!”

“Well I wasn’t gonna ask about the salsa or the cat plates right away!”

Randall laughed. 

“But really, if you guys are all awake, I’d like to talk to you.”

All four of them stared at each other. Hamish’s explanation had been constantly interrupted with multiple questions, and Hamish made a mental memo to ask Vera how she kept everyone from interrupting her. Probably the fact that half of the Order was bloody scared of her.

“So, you said yes. Without asking us?”

Oh. Yes. He should have done that. But before he could say anything, Gabrielle spoke up.

“I know what you are thinking, that if we would have said no, we could finally get rid of even this unit of the order. But they would just send somebody else, wouldn’t they? You said yourself that The Grand Magus OR anyone in the closest position after her -aka if she dies- can get it. You really think somebody won’t come down from DC and kill her to get the spot? And before you say anything about needing us, it’s not like the Order has a problem with going into people’s heads and making them believe stuff.”

Gabrielle had a lot of valid points. Not that Hamish had thought of any of this.

However, he spoke up. “Exactly. Thank you, Gabrielle. I’m sorry though, I should still have discussed this with you.”

Jack and Randall nodded, but they didn’t seem upset with him.

“Okay but like, this is kind of cool. She literally said that we were equal?”

Well, no, she had spoken about Hamish. “Something along those lines, yeah.”

“Why didn’t she say that earlier though?”

“Yes, because we would have made really good choices, Jack!” Gabrielle was really beginning to understand this.

“Wait, then we can give her shit too? Can I now call her mom? Imagine her face!”

“Randall!”

Randall exited backwards while pointing finger guns at them. Hamish loved that little goof.

At precisely 12, Hamish knocked on the door of the office. It opened in front of him, and inside were standing all of their visiting stars and the Magus herself. Vodel was the first to look up.

“Ah, Hamish, my man. Wonderful to have you on the team.” The team? Wait a minute.

“Likewise, General.” Hamish forced a smile.

“Ah, son, we are working together, no need to be formal, you can call us by our first names! Right, Vera?” She didn’t look up.

“Mm. Yeah.”

The General (or Klaus, Hamish supposed) patted him on the back and it took every instinct from Hamish to not wolf out on him.

“So, we are all going?” Hamish was playing polite but felt seriously agitated. Did they need a whole team to go get one damned key? Vera shook her head.

“No. Dayyan, Angela and Alma are staying the here, taking care of the Temple.” And Hamish realized who was not mentioned. Shit.

“Klaus will accompany us through the drive up north, but after crossing the border we must continue by foot by ourselves. It is clearly stated that only the Magus and the Knight may seek the key, and I’m not risking it by bringing an extra man too close. He’ll help us determine a precise location, but after that he must turn back.”

“Why does this sound more dangerous the more we speak of it?”

Bjurstrom shifted. “As you know, The Magus is not in everybody’s’ good book right now, and it might be that there will be people that are opposed to her… on the way.” That was code for would like to kill her to get control of the key and then the temple, Hamish figured.

“What makes it worse, is that they will likely be monitoring the area for magic.”

“So, we cannot perform magic at all.”

“Not if we want to live.” Vera had a weird look on her face. “Transforming into your wolf is a magical process. It’s why the chains that were used on your last year blocked your transformation.”

Ah, that’s what the look had been about.

“So, we are on our own? Completely human.”

“Yes, we are indeed.” Vera smirked.

“And if we run into problems? We’re just going to fight our way through with our fists?”

“Something like that.”

“Great.”

“I never said this would be a holiday.”

“No, that you did not.”

Don’t worry, son, you’re still with the Grand Magus, magic or not.” Almasi smiled at him. That did not help. As a matter of fact, it made him feel worse; like he was some kind of schoolboy that couldn’t make it on his own.

“I wasn’t worried about that. Finding a magical artifact tends to be easier with magic, no?”

Fernandez laughed.

“I can see why you chose him, Vera. Come on, let’s go sit down and figure everything out.”

Hamish ignored the first part (Vera had just risen her eyebrows) and focused on being happy on proper planning. That was a first for him.

The group gathered around the small table and the armchairs. Hamish looked down and found that the blood from his earlier visit had disappeared. Vera seemed to be thinking the same thing because she looked at him with a pissed face. He really should not do that again.

Vodel laid out a map of North America.

“We don’t have a precise location, but Angela and I managed to determine that it’s most likely just a bit north of Lake Ontario.”

“Huh. Canada.”

“It’s actually not surprising. Canada has a lot of magical areas, but the Order doesn’t have ground there. It’s neutral ground when it comes to inside-of-order things.”

“If there’s a lot of magical hubs there, why hasn’t the order spread there?”

“Because they have a smarter government there.” Almasi smirked.

“The Order has a small unit in Syracuse, where we will stop on the way back.”

“Why not on the way?”

“No one gets to know about our little adventure. Including your friends; do not reveal a location of any kind.”

“Noted.”

“Good.”

“We’ll take 81 and cross the border at Alexandria Bay. After that we are moving on foot and in cash. Klaus will turn back there.”

“Won’t that be a little weird? We’re just crossing the border, on foot, for no reason?”

“No. Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park is near Alexandria Bay. It attracts a lot of backpackers.”

“So, we are going in as tourists?”

“Exactly.”

That wasn’t a terrible plan. Honestly, considering that one of their last plans had included summoning a demon, this was actually a great plan. He wasn’t sure about going tenting with Vera though. Not on his bucket list for that year – she certainly didn’t look like someone that would particularly love that experience, high heels or not.

“Now, it’s likely that the key will be in a natural are; if I have understood correctly, it chooses a place that is untouched by humans.”

“Where the magic is also untouched and free.”

“You’re getting the point.”

“How will we know the exact location?”

Vodel looked at Vera. Vera looked at Hamish.

“Ah.”

“We’re hoping that we will figure that out as we get closer.”

“Comforting.”

“That’s why Klaus will be joining us on the way there. A pair of extra hands won’t hurt.”

“Magic has a weird way of working. I have faith that the key will find you if you don’t find it.”

“I usually don’t like to lay things on fate but I’m assuming I don’t really have a choice.”

“Believe me, neither do I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready to go on an adventure?  
> Also, I think I'd like to explore a little bit of Vera's backstory, what do you think?


	8. The Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prepare for cliche angst :)

They decided to leave during the weekend, giving them a few days to plan. Every possible problem had been mapped out and prepared for. Hamish had only left Vera’s office to go home to sleep and shower. Spending so much time with the powerful magus could have taught him a lot, watching her do her job. However, the dynamic was incredibly weird. She was even cooler and more professional, which Hamish didn’t even know one could possibly be. The visitors should have been her old friends, but there was a constant tension between them. Not a nice one. They clearly trusted each other, but they were in no way friends to each other. If Hamish didn’t know better, he’d say they actually weren’t comfortable with each other. It was a weird play where everybody pretend that everything was okay. Especially being around with Vera was hard. She was even more closed off and pissed off than normally. The adventure that he had been looking forward to as an experience and learning opportunity had turned into something he wished was already over. He honestly thought things could not get any more uncomfortable. But, sadly to Hamish, they could.

“I want you to fight me.”  
Hamish stared at the General. Quite frankly, he would love to fight him, he despised the man for some reason. But his invitation made it rather suspicious.  
“Wasn’t really on today’s plan. Why?”  
“I want to see how you work without the werewolf. You need to learn to hold him back, even in tight spots.”  
“I have a lot of years of werewolf behind me. I’m quite certain that controlling it won’t be a problem.” Vodel stared at him, completely unimpressed. “We’ll see.”

Then they would, Hamish decided. But again, the odds were not in his favor. He woke up to a splash of cold water on his face. Again.  
“You are weak without your wolf.”  
“Thank you for the words of encouragement.”  
“Wasn’t supposed to be encouraging.”  
“So, if I’m absolute shit, why are you using your precious time on me? Klaus.”  
“Because I want to be a hundred percent sure that you won’t transform in a tight situation.”  
“So, in other words, you are not trying to teach me to fight, but you are just going to keep beating me up until you are satisfied, I won’t wolf-out?”  
“Exactly.”  
Hamish really hated the man.  
“Don’t worry boy, your boss will take care of you.” He had an arrogant smile.  
“She can’t use magic either, so we’re in the same boat.”  
Vodel laughed.  
“Do you know how we met?”  
Hamish didn’t answer. He really didn’t need to know.  
“She beat the living shit out of me when were in college. She thought I was going to go hurt a drunk girl at a frat party. The girl was actually my friend’s girlfriend and I was checking in on her, but Vera just saw me follow the girl. Almost killed me, bloody hell. So yeah, you’re not on the same boat kid. She can take care of herself.”  
Before Hamish even processed the information, he received a punch to his nose, followed by an aggressive crack. But as he dragged himself home that night, he had to admit that the thought of a twenty-year-old Vera Stone beating the asshole up made him feel a little better. But just a little better.

“He broke your nose?”  
“I’ll heal.”  
“So not the point here. Are they training you for war??”  
“Sure feels like it.”

As Hamish tumbled into bed, he realized that Jack did have a valid point. Was all this really necessary? Or even worth it? Hamish didn’t know.

The morning of their journey Hamish woke up feeling anxious. He had packed his bag the previous night; it wasn’t much. A pocketknife, his sleeping bag and a few extra t-shirts and underwear. He had been asked to leave his phone at home. It felt like he was in an episode of criminal minds. 

The temple was completely dead so early in the morning. Hamish felt out of place, waiting on the front steps. He toyed with the coffee cup he had gotten from the nearest shop on his way. As the General greeted him with a nod, walking down the steps, a surge of anxiety and anger went through him.  
“You ready son? The boss is right behind us, finishing stuff up with the others.”  
“Are we ready to go?” Hamish ignored his original question.”  
“We are, indeed, Mr. Duke.”  
She looked different. Instead of her usual high heels and dress she was wearing cargo pants and Doc Martens. Her hair was in a tight updo. Hamish had grown to… appreciate her normal look, but he had to admit that this was quite the look as well. She looked like the kind of person that could whoop someone out with one punch. Although, Hamish mused, she always looked like that. What was it that Lilith used to say? A bad bitch. Hamish never really understood it, but he had a feeling that the word would be appropriate here.

“Are you still with us, Mr. Duke?”  
“Yes, of course. Shall we?”

They drove in silence. Hamish felt like a schoolboy, sitting in the backseat of the car, staring out of the window. After a few hours, Vera and the General switched places, Vera now driving. Hamish didn’t mind the silence; he was a wolf after all, appreciative of peace and quiet. He did find it odd though. Not a single word was exchanged, not even amongst the general and Vera who were supposedly old friends. Hamish wondered if it was because of him. He was, undeniably, the third wheel. If he were to believe the General, they had known each other since she was twenty. That was, what, fifteen years ago? How old was she anyway? She could not have been more than thirty-seven. That thought made him feel even more like a schoolboy; when they had entered college, he had been ten. 

The car stopped and Vera got out of it, stretching her arms. Hamish looked away, only to snap back when the backdoor opened, Hamish now being face to face with the General.  
“You getting out?”  
“What?”  
“You suggest you would like to put the grand magus in the backseat?”  
“Of course not, what do you- oooh! Okay”  
“I hope you are better at driving than you are at fighting, kid.”  
Hamish stumbled out of the backseat only to scowled at Vera. He swiftly climbed into the driver’s seat as the General laughed at him. 

Hamish could not wait for him to leave. Not that the thought of being alone with Vera didn’t scare him.  
It was nearly nightfall when he drove up to a small hostel that they had planned upon. It looked nearly abandoned; it was falling to pieces and there were several broken windows covered with boards. He glanced sideways at the Magus, who he remembered to be rather… huffy about where she was willing to go. Hamish was expecting a strong reaction and was shocked to see her remain completely passive. That was new. She had literally freaked about their den, but something out of a horror movie didn’t have any effect on her. 

They climbed out of the car and made their way to the front desk. Vera singed them in, and the old lady at the desk gave them a key. She smelt of cheap booze, cigarettes and urine. Sometimes Hamish hated having a good sense of smell. 

As they walked into the hallways, Vera took a turn to the ladies’ side and Hamish and The General continued to the end of the hallway. It was a simple room, with three bunkbeds and a small bathroom. It was surprisingly clean, and to their pleasure, empty. Hamish rolled into one of the lower beds and threw his t-shirt over his head.

“Don’t do it, boy.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“It’ll only end badly for you.”  
“This “boy” does not know what you’re talking about.”  
“Don’t think you’ll ever be anything but her colleague.”  
“Vera?”  
“The Magus to you.”  
Hamish stared at him.  
“Is this a jealousy thing? Because I promise that I have no feelings for her, and I am not stopping you on your crazy quest of thinking you can make her fall in love with you.”  
The General laughed. “Do you really think this is about a silly little crush on her?”  
“Well it sure as hell felt like it when you beat me up seven times this week.”  
“I was hoping it would help.”  
“…what? You, beating me up, would somehow make her fall in love with you?”  
“I was trying to make sure that you would keep feeling like a student.”  
“May I ask why?”  
“So that you would keep reminding yourself that you had no chance with her.”  
“Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, you have a really fragile masculinity? That you can’t accept that maybe “the love of your life” doesn’t like you back and you blame everyone else.”  
The General laughed again, but this time is was a sad laugh.  
“Do you really think anyone with a fragile masculinity could love her? Have you seen that bloody woman?” The General smiled at him and continued. “I’ve seen how you look at her. Today, in the car, when you thought she wasn’t looking. Gentle, intrigued. You don’t even realize it. It starts with admiration; she is a strong and powerful persona and you wished to be like her. You looked up to her. Then you realize she is kind and brave. You begin to notice that she is also beautiful. You see that she hurts inside. You want to help her, just like she has helped everyone else; she deserves it. You want to save her. You think you can. You think, if you work hard enough she will let you under the shell. You think she will let you in.”

Hamish didn’t respond.

“She’s a drug, Hamish. An enigma. She pulls you in. And she’ll crush you.” He sifted. “She doesn’t mean to. I’ve loved her like a sister for over ten years and will keep doing so forever. That’s why I came again. I’ll always come. No matter what happens.” A single tear ran down his face. “She’s broken, Hamish. And if you keep going down that road, you’ll be broken too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmk what u think! Every single comment gives me serotonin


	9. Addison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very short chapter; I've been busy these last two days :) started working again after corona, woop woop (here we are pretty much done!) anyway, here are our favourite goofs.
> 
> oh, I posted pics + descriptions of the guest stars on my tumblr, go check it out; writingwithmycat

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I think you’re a good man.”

“Sorry?”

“I think you’re a good man, and a kind man. And you will fall in love with her if you get too close, and you will do anything to help the person you love. But you won’t be able to help her. You’ll keep trying forever, and it won’t work. I don’t want you to do that.”

“Frankly, I don’t understand why it’s any of your business. And most importantly, she, nor anybody else, is not a project that needs solving. Why are you so hellbent on “helping” me, anyway?”

“Because I’ve seen this go down before.”

“Listen, I get that you aren’t over your old crush, okay? Just please don’t project your feelings onto me.”

Hamish turned around, fuming with rage. This man had a really made up an insulting, fake story about Vera Stone so that he could protect his fragile ego.

“She destroyed my sister.”

Hamish looked over his shoulder.

“What?”

“Addison. My baby sister.”

“Please don’t start again, ok? We will literally go our separate ways in about twenty hours.”

“Vera tutored Addison when she first joined the order. I was so happy that my baby was in good hands. I knew she had a crush on Vera, but, hell, who didn’t. But, like Vera, my sister was also magnificent. And they fell in love. They thought they could make it work. The happy ending. They were together for over two years, had a little flat and all. But she can’t Hamish, Vera cannot let people too close to her. When it got too serious, she left. Like there was nothing ever there. And it almost killed my baby.” The General stared at the wall in front of him, carefully considering his next words. “Vera realized that she would not be able to see it through, life with Addison, and being her responsible self, didn’t want to hurt Addison any more than she already would. She’s fine now, ended up having kids and all the cute stuff. But like I said, Vera Stone is a drug, and it took Addison a long time to feel whole again. She buried her pain in school and Vera buried it into rum and the order.”

Hamish looked at him.

“I’m sincerely sorry to hear that. But I don’t think that what happened over ten years ago affects the present so strongly; I don’t understand how you think that your sister and I overlap. Vera Stone is not a monster, and I wish you were to speak of her respectfully.”

The General looked at him. Hamish waited for a response. He didn’t get one.

The morning sun woke Hamish up and the memories from the previous night came flooding in. Fucking hell. He turned over in his bed, only to find The General sitting opposite. And Vera at the door. Both fully clothed. Hamish looked down to his bare chest. Shit.

“Ah, Mr. Duke, I see you have decided to greet us with your presence. How wonderful.” Vera clapped her hands. Hamish put his t-shirt back on. The General smiled.

As he followed the other two down to the lobby, he went over what The General had told him. He was angry, very much so. The man was inappropriate and sickening. The trio made their way to the car, while The General mulled over where they should get breakfast. Hamish couldn’t care less. New York was beautiful in early June. Hamish could almost pretend that all was well, when he looked out at the beautiful view. And to be honest, sitting in the back seat and watching Vera drive was kind of a nice thing as well. She had a type of elegance in everything she did, and he was noticing it more and more often. Randall’s voice rang in his head; _Dude, are you hot for teacher?_ Hamish glanced at Vera again. She was beautiful; the warm sun hit her face and made her hair glow. She was leaning back, her left hand on the open window. Seeing her drive was weirdly attractive. Hamish was not sure why. Maybe it was the certain kind of calm and eerie look on her face, or the fact that he liked seeing her doing her thing, in control. He wondered if he had a thing for dominating women or if he just wasn’t sexist and therefore didn’t mind women being in authority positions and doing traditionally masculine things. Randall’s voice rang in his head again. Yes. He definitely had a thing for her.

He had a feeling that if the times had not been… well, like they were, he would’ve known it a lot earlier. But, alas, there was a time he was worried of her killing them. So, no. But now? He definitely had a crush on his boss, who used to be his enemy, and who most likely thought of him as a child. He laughed to himself. How very teen drama. Talk about lap dog and being pitiful. Hamish went back to his earlier dilemma about whether he had a thing for powerful women or just wasn’t shitty. He decided on both. He also decided on the fact that he was in a bit of a problem.

They stopped for lunch. Hamish followed the two mindlessly, still wondering about his newly discovered problem. He didn’t know whether he really believed The Generals story; either every word of it was true or the man was completely crazy, making up stories to support his weird fantasies. He almost wanted to believe the second option; however, Vera had a tendency of seeing through people’s bullshit, and that made the scenario unlikely. So, was he to believe it all? Hamish didn’t know. Even if the stories were true, he disliked the way The General had presented it. People were not things to be fixed or problems to be dealt with. He did, however, realize that the description of Vera was point on; she was an enigma and a fire that drew everybody else. She had a mysterious, beautiful aura to her. And it intrigued him. Pulled him in. Took over his thoughts. He wanted to understand her, understand how her mind worked. Solve the mystery of Vera Stone. So, was it just the mystery that appealed to him? _It starts with_ _admiration; she is a strong and powerful persona and you wished to be like her. You looked up to her. Then you realize she is kind and brave. You begin to notice that she is also beautiful._

The General was right, at least about that. So, in other words he admired her, looked up to her and also had a crush? That made sense, the line between the two was quite thin. The General had been, for whatever reason, concerned about Hamish falling in love with Vera Stone. But he had been wrong; Hamish simply admired her and had a foolish crush. Nothing more. Whatever the General was so hellbent on was not there.

The realization brought peace to Hamish. His biggest problem right now was just making sure that he wouldn’t do anything silly in front of his boss because he had a bit of a crush. She would never know, and he’d get over it and everything would be fine. Simple. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) y’all still with me? 🤪


	10. Ponders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: contains adult content, for LEGAL ADULTS only

Lunch with the trio was not a pleasant experience. Hamish felt like The General was constantly laughing at him – the kind of laugh where you think the other one is a complete fool and you’re just waiting for them to royally fuck up. On the outside they didn’t speak at all and ate in complete silence. Sitting next to Vera was weird as well. Hamish was so used to seeing her in the leather chair, giving orders, not doing mundane things like eating. She felt much more equal and human, sitting there in a dirty little restaurant. 

As they switched to 81 and started getting near Syracuse, Hamish felt nervous. The idea of getting rid of the general had been wonderful to this point, but now Hamish was less sure if he wanted to be alone with Vera. For several days. It was not very ideal for him. Although he felt a bit of excitement as well – it was rare you would spend half an hour with the woman, never mind several days.

Hamish was now driving, with Vera in the front seat, who was blissfully in her own thoughts. He wondered for a moment; what if this was normal? Them, driving together. _Maybe if he drove her around. _Yes. The whole schoolboy thing. Not that they actually had that much difference in age… But that was not the point, the Grand Magus was. And, it was just a crush anyway.__

____

They drove through Syracuse, where they would stay on their way back. It was a small city with a lot of poor areas, and Hamish wondered why the Order was there, knowing how posh they were. He wondered if there was a magical significance to the spot. In the parking lot of Dunkin’ Donuts Hamish and Vera switched places. In silence. Again. Eventually he fell asleep and didn’t wake up until the car came to an abrupt stop. 

____

“Mr. Duke, interrupting your beauty sleep?”  
“No, sorry.” He was embarrassed. Falling asleep? What was he, five?

____

Vera and The General got out of the car. Vera pulled on a coat and Hamish followed. They pulled out their backpacks; it was time to go. The General saluted them, and they both nodded. Hamish didn’t like the smirk he got from the man as he got back in the car. And then it was just them, thousands of cars driving past them and Saint Lawrence River flowing in front of them. 

____

The walk was terrible; there was no walking path, and so they scurried next to the cars. The border was not meant to be crossed on foot. They entered an ugly, brown building. A handsome man in his forties at the front desk waived them in. 

____

“You know, usually people drive cars down the highway?” He smiled, and Hamish decided that he liked the man. He laughed. Vera did not.  
“What you guys here for?”  
“Bit of backpacking, taking a mini holiday.” Hamish smiled.  
“Ah, sounds like a plan to me. Alright, I’m going to need a valid passport or other national ID.”  
Hamish and Vera pulled them out and handed them to the man.  
“Huh, so you’re not married?”  
“I assume you are aware that some women prefer to keep their own name these days? And no, just… colleagues.” Vera raised her eyebrows.  
“Yeah, you right. So, neither one of y’all if mind if I write my number down for ya, for the next time you decide to go backpacking?”  
“Excuse me?”  
“Not for you ma’am, although if I had a thing for the ladies you’d definitely be on the list.”  
“Oh? Oh! Well let’s both be happy you don’t!”  
The man looked at them, weirded out.  
“My bad, folks.”  
He handed the passport back and showed them out. Hamish didn’t get a number.

____

“Hey! I didn’t get the number.” He teased her.  
“That was completely inappropriate of him to hit on you like that, on the job!”  
“I didn’t mind.” Hamish smiled.  
“Well, if you wish you may go back, Mr. Duke, but I am going to do our actual job, if you don’t mind.” She was cool. “Wait, you like men?”  
“Not that I know, but I’ve never thought about it. Although… why not?” Hamish shrugged. Vera looked a little embarrassed by her sudden question.  
“And you?”  
“Excuse me?”  
“You asked me, I’m asking you.”  
“Isn’t that a little inappropriate of you?”  
“Is this conversation appropriate in any way?” Hamish smiled.  
“No! It is not. But as an answer to your question – just to be fair -, I don’t really care. I do what I want and who I want. Now, please, can we be professional, Mr. Duke?” She scoffed.  
“Of course.”

____

_I do what I want and who I want. ___

____

____

____

Wait. Was she “doing” people? 

____

____

____

Hamish had never spared a thought to the idea that the Magus would be dating someone. Someone in the order, maybe? The thought of Coventry flashed his mind, and with a disgusted sneer appeared on his face. He tried to focus on something else before he reflected on this anymore. But his mind was already racing. He saw an image of them kissing in her office. Her hands in his hair and his hand on her waist. His hand squeezing her ass. Her gasping into his mouth. Him pulling her skirt off, turning her around, against the desk. Her laughing and squirming under his grip. Him whispering dirty secrets in her ears as he pushed into her so hard that her thighs hit the table and bruised. Her gasping in pain and pleasure.

____

____

____

Hamish tripped.

____

____

____

“Please don’t make regret taking you on this trip, Mr. Duke.” 

____

____

____

Vera. Professional. Trip. Focus.

____

____

____

“Of course not.” Hamish blushed, but not from embarrassment like Vera thought. 

____

____

____

Hamish followed behind Vera as she passed him with a huff.

____

____

____

Vera would never have had a thing for Coventry though. Or anything else. She was smarter than that. Right?

____

____

____

Alright, who else? Maybe it wasn’t someone from the Order. Maybe it was from the University staff. Hamish kept forgetting that she was also the Dean of the University. Which was quite impressive, considering that she was in her mid-thirties. So maybe there was someone there. Or several. Or her private life? He had a sudden realization that he knew absolutely nothing about the person in front of him. Sure, she spent most of her days at work. She was very smart and hardworking, cunning, a good leader and all that. But what did she do when she was outside of work? Did she meet friends, or did she go out, read, watch movies? Did she even like movies? Hamish had no idea, and he realized that he didn’t actually know the woman at all. He only knew what she was like at work. Because they work together. She was his boss. He didn’t need any of this information.

____

____

____

What was her favorite food?

____

____

____

They crossed the Thousand Island Bridge. It was gorgeous, and Hamish was pleased to find a walkway. After the Bridge they turned left, and after a good, ten-minute walk Vera led them to a small, charming Bed & Breakfast. They were greeted by a tiny, old Chinese lady with white, flowy hair. She looked like a fairy tale grandma, and when she smiled a wholehearted, warm smile, with some missing teeth, Hamish felt like coming home. She greeted them with a wave, and invited them in.  
“Do you have a reservation?” She had a bit of an accent but was clearly comfortable in English. She hopped on a bar stool behind the welcoming counter.  
“No. Is that alright?” Vera asked, and Hamish was shocked to see a warm, sincere smile on her face. He was sure he had not seen that before. Not that he minded.  
“No, it’s all right. Can I see an Id from one of you?”  
Vera handed her passport over.  
“Wonderful. Follow me.”  
Vera and Hamish picked up their bags and jogged after the lady who moved insanely quickly. They left the building and found themselves in a small garden, completed with fruit trees and flowers. On the other side there were several buildings. It was a beautiful little area, really, and under different circumstances Hamish would have absolutely adored it.  
“Do you attend to the gardens yourself?” Vera was making polite small talk.  
“No. My husband does. He loves working with flowers!”  
“Oh, do you run this place just the two of you?”  
“Our whole family runs it together.” The lady smiled and led them into one of the buildings.  
“Alright, Mr. and Ms. Stone, here you go!” She opened up a door to a pretty room with wooden walls and a beautiful view of the garden.  
“Oh, we’re not married!” Hamish and Vera said in unison.  
The old lady looked at them with twinkles in her eyes.  
“Well, I won’t tell if you won’t.” She gave them a mischievous smile and sauntered off.  
Vera spluttered, but the lady was long gone. Hamish laughed. Vera cleared her throat.  
“Do you find this funny, Mr. Duke?”  
“A little bit.”  
Vera paused and then she chuckled.  
“You’re taking the couch.”  
“So I was planning.”

____

____

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did I go there? yes.  
> anyway y'all blessed with two chapters today  
> and yes all of these roads, rivers and towns etc exist, I have spent an embarrassing amount of time on google maps figuring out time and distance etc.... the little b&b is made up tho, couldn't find a fitting one online so I made my own


	11. Cassie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long! The café I work at has been hectic and I've been insanely tired when I get home that I've just went straight to bed... anyway, I now managed to sit down and write the next chapter, which is quite short, sadly :) kinda cute tho... who else want's to visit the fairytale lady's inn?

Hamish woke up to an intense stair from a pair of blue eyes.

“Planning on getting up today, Mr. Duke?”

“I- what? Yes, of course. What time is it?”

Hamish sat up, only for Vera to immediately back up. Hamish realized she had been leaning over him.

“Nearly eight. We should get going.”

“Can we stay for the breakfast here? I prefer to fight evil with a full stomach.”

“Isn’t it your thing to eat mid-act, though?”

“Well, I mean, yes but- Can we just have the breakfast here?” Hamish blushed.

They did. To Hamish’s delight. It was rather charming, having breakfast in the courtyard, underneath the blooming apple trees. Even Vera admitted that, though only to herself. It was sunny, with a light breeze flowing over them. A small part of Hamish wished he could forever exist in that moment, drinking Earl Gray and listening to birds, watching Vera Stone eat a pancake with maple syrup on the corner of her mouth. It was all very idyllic and novel-from-the-romantic-era-like. They were quiet, but it was not an awkward or tense silence, just peace and calm.

“What are you smiling at, Mr. Duke?”

“I was just thinking about how different this is.”

“Sorry?”  
“When I usually see you, we are on the brink of death, or you are solving a world crisis in your office. It’s not that were not on an important and dangerous mission right now, but this is quite different than what I’m used to.” Hamish smiled. “I mean, I certainly prefer to go on evil-fighting trips when they include rest stops at little storybook inns.”

Vera smiled. “Yes, I must admit that this is rather different. Could deal with a mission like this every once in a while.”

“Huh, maybe we should just start making the temple lock itself, so we have an excuse to go and find the key.”

“Or you could just, u know, take a break with your friends and go somewhere together?”

_Yes, but then you are not there._

“When have _you_ last taken a break?”

“I work three jobs Mr. Duke; how do you suggest I take a break?”

“Oh, yeah… Why?”

“Excuse me?”

“Not that it’s any of my business, but I was just wondering on why you work all three jobs? I’m pretty sure that even handling one of them is too stressful for most people.”

“I’m not most people, Mr. Duke. Now, you tell me which job I should let someone else take care of.”

Hamish wasn’t sure if this was completely rhetorical question, but he thought it out. Obviously, she couldn’t get rid of the Grand Magus, because without that she wouldn’t have enough control of the order. The university had to be under an order member, so that the temple could keep itself running and getting more recruits. And it was only logical for the same person to run the temple as well, although a very good team could handle them both. Expect…

“There’s no one you trust, is there, to run the temple or the university on their own, is there?”

“No. I don’t have great faith in the order members, for reasons you are already aware of.”  
“May I ask – I think it would be useful to know – who you actually trust in the order?”  
Vera stared at him. Oh.

“I’m not saying that I think that there aren’t any good people there – just that they can’t always be trusted with doing the right thing and not working for their own benefit or for what they think is right.”

That was them. Hamish stared down.

“So, when you do your world saving, who do you work it out to? Who is the go-to person that you tell everything to?”

“You’re overstepping the line, Mr. Duke.”

“You are right, I’m sorry.”

He got up to leave and pack his bag.

“I had an old friend who I used to confide in. He is no longer with us, but I often think about what he would say or do.”

Hamish looked back.

“Yes, I know, rather stupid. I’m aware. But we are still alive, so at least it works, even if just a bit.”

“No, I don’t think it’s stupid.”

Vera chuckled.

“Then I’ll have to keep an eye on you. Talking to an imaginary ghost most certainly is foolish.”

Hamish smiled.

He missed her a lot sometimes. His girl. Cute, bubbly Cassie. He sometimes could still feel her lingering around him, next to him. In the morning, making coffee. In his bed, that used to be theirs. While walking through the campus. Studying in the library. He could completely understand what Vera had meant by talking to an imaginary ghost; Cassie was constantly on his mind, in the back of it. When he saw a yellow sundress, he thought of her on the beach; when he saw sunflowers, he thought about how he gave them to her on their first date; every time he had mango ice cream, he thought of their first kiss. It was no longer a painful memory. It was just a part of him and his life. She was almost like a little friend, sitting on his shoulder. His secret best friend, who got excited when she saw dogs and made him excited as well. That was happy when she saw the sun and made him happy as well. She was his polar opposite and he loved her for it.

They left the inn, backpacks filled with cinnamon buns that the little lady gave them. Hamish tagged after Vera, who was completely focused on her map. He reflected on their earlier conversation. Hamish’s friends made him crazy, but he always knew he could trust them. On anything. The thought of having no one who you could trust around you was terrifying. He looked at Vera. She was so calm and serene. Head always held high. But she must’ve been incredibly lonely. When had she last talked with someone about something else then the order? Hell, when had she last held a conversation with anyone besides an order member? She was always at the temple or the university. Did she ever meet friends? Did she do nothing but work? How was she even sane anymore; her life consisted of nothing but stress and work, and, if he was correct, absolutely no one she was close to, no one to trust and no one to love.

Hamish Duke made a decision that day, following after her.

He was going to be a friend for Vera Stone. If she would allow it. He wanted to believe she would.

_You think, if you work hard enough, she will let you under the shell. You think she will let you in. She’ll crush you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aHAhA... lmk how y'all feeling :)
> 
> also how has corona been there, where ever you are? I live in Finland and here it's literally over ( I think we overall had like 7000 cases or something during the whole pandemic bc we have a queen as a prime minister who did a really badass job at taking care of everything!) but it's my understanding that in other places it's literally just getting worse.
> 
> ALSO! I added a pic of what I imagine Cassie being like onto my Tumblr, writing with my cat!


	12. Take out

The bus was old and made weird sounds each time it turned in a corner. They were moving north, via route 41. Hamish had a growing worry at the bottom of his stomach. Something bad would happen soon. He wasn’t sure if the wolf in him had an instinct or if this was his sixth sense, but something was off. He kept shifting back and forth on his seat.

“Do we yet have any idea of a more specific location?”

“No. Vodel and I just figured out that it is somewhere northwest from where we crossed the border, and our best guess is it’s in the middle of a large Provincial Park.”

“What’s the park called?”

” Algonquin Provincial Park. It’s quite large. But it is exactly the kind of place that the key would choose, untouched and natural hence the magic is untouched.”

“How do we actually know this much about the key? I’m assuming that there’s not much written knowledge of it, considering that none of this is public knowledge.”  
“Reasonable question. Similar to the Knights, Magus’ used to keep diaries; this information is passed down as the next Magus gets the diaries. It’s my understanding that this has been done twice before; once in the civil war and once during the second world war. The writing is rather vague, but I’m assuming that very specific information in the diaries would not be preferable, as they may fall in the wrong hands.”

“Huh. What do we actually know about the key?”

“Absolutely nothing but the obvious; it releases the magic in the temple. I don’t even know whether it’s a physical object or a spell.”

“Huh. Wait a minute; if the temple is locking the magic in the area, how are we able to still do magic?”

“Magic doesn’t have borders; it doesn’t follow towns or directions. It’s still everywhere, including the temple. You can think of it as a lever. The temple and the altar act as a lever, enhancing the power. Without the lever you can survive as well but have less power.”

“You said that the temples have grown more powerful over time, because of all of the spell work done near them. If that’s the case, couldn’t you make anything a lever if you work near it?”

“Of course. What do you think Stonehenge and The Excalibur are?”

“Oh! But I don’t recall those legends including spell work?”

“Our style of magic is only of many. The magic is the same, but there are different ways of using it. Our sacrifice-centered spell work is the western way, but if you travel the world you will see people use magic through for example and music.”

“But they don’t have to do sacrifices?”

“No. It’s a much smarter way of doing magic. Instead of trying to harness and control it, people try to work alongside of it. Our way is rather barbaric to be frank.”

“Why am I not surprised that we are the ones trying to foolishly control it?”

“Neither am I.”

“Hey, if the Excalibur and Stonehenge are real, is the loch ness monster real as well?”

Vera smirked.

The rest of the ride was silent. Hamish stared out of the window, and as they turned to route 62, he focused on the lake beside them. He really could do with a small get-away like this. Without the whole key thing. Maybe the Knights could go somewhere together after all this was over. Do something normal for once. The thought of taking the others on a backpack trip made him smile. He could imagine just how well selling that idea to Gabrielle would go. Maybe they could take a long weekend in the city. Have fun. None of the kids were truly living a real college experience, and Hamish felt a little guilty of dragging them into the adult world so early.

Hamish looked over to Vera, wondering what her college had been like. If he was to believe Vodel’s story, Vera had been to Belgrave as well. She had obviously hung out with their current visitors, and assumingly had a relationship with Addison Vodel. Had she known then how dangerous her life would be? Would she still have made the same choices if she had known what her future would hold?

The bus stopped abruptly, and Vera and Hamish got out as the only passengers. Barry’s Bay, the sign above them said. It was a small community of only a little over a thousand people. There was absolutely nothing there.

“We should get going. It will be dark soon.”

“Scared, Mr. Duke?”

“No?”

“Sure.”

There was a small hotel nearby, and they wandered in. They got their keys, and found their rooms, opposite to each other.

“Do you want food? I think I saw a Chinese place on our way in.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll go and get us something, anything specific you would like?”

“Food.”  
  


Hamish jogged down the block, only to find it to be raining. Half an hour later, wet up to his ears, he returned to the hotel, holding a rather large amount of food in his hands. He knocked on her door, and then he heard the lock clicked. Vera opened the door and, to his surprise, invited him in. She was seemingly only wearing a long t-shirt. Hamish tried to not focuse on that. Instead he walked over to the table, where there was map of the area.

“Anything new?”

“Nope. You’re wet.”  
“I know.”  
“Go change, I don’t need you getting sick.”

“Unless you haven’t noticed, we’re backpacking – I don’t have anything else for pants and were not exactly at the level of friendship where I’d like to run around in my underwear.”

“No arguments to that. Why didn’t you do an enlargement spell on your bag?”

“You said no magic.”

“Yes. No magic here. Nothing about brining things that have had magic done to them. Fool.”

“Oh.”

“Put the heater on and hang your shirt on it.”

Hamish, who was now embarrassed, scurried over to the heater. Only for the knob not to turn.

“Oh, for god’s sake.” Vera walked over and forced it to turn. “Do you need help with the shirt too?” She was sarcastic. Hamish still felt heat on his face.

“No. I’m good. I’ll let you know if I need a hand.”

Vera huffed, grabbed the takeout and sat on the bed. Hamish hung his shirt on the heater, suddenly very aware of only being half dressed. He looked at her, waiting for the throw-out. It didn’t come.

“Are you planning on standing there all night?”

“No? I was just leaving.”

“Oh please, you can stay. Unless you’re that shy.” Hamish ignored the remark.

“You usually to prefer to be left alone after dealing with what needs to be done.”

Vera patted the bed.

“This isn’t exactly normal, is it? Would I be wearing just a t-shirt if it were?”

Sadly, no.

“Fair point.” He sat down on the bed, trying to not look at Vera, who was sitting cross-legged, completely focused on her noodles. _I want to be her friend. Friends eat take out and sit on the bed. However, friends don’t look at their friend’s legs. Focus, Hamish._

“What?”

“Sorry?”

“You looked like there’s something on your mind.”

“No… I was just thinking at how absurd this is.”

“Absurd?”  
“Us, here. You, the great Grand Magus, one of the most powerful people in the country. Me, the leader of a secret werewolf group. Here, sitting on your bed and eating noodles.”

She smiled.

“It is a bit funny, yes. But, at the end of the day, everyone likes noodles.”

“Very true.”

“How did you become the leader of a secret werewolf club? I don’t actually know much anything about the Knights, only the connection between the order and them.”

“It’s really nothing special.”

“It’s a secret society. Besides, I like learning new things, especially about things as uncommon as werewolf societies. So, how do you become a member, besides the hide choosing its champion?”  
“It’s really not as grand as the order. Basically, The Knights find somebody that they think would be a good champion and see if the hide picks them.”

“So, you got in through a friend?”

Hamish took a moment to figure out whether he should lie or not.

“I fell in love with a girl, and she turned out to be a werewolf.”

“What was her name?” Vera looked thoughtful.

“Cassie.” Hamish smiled.

Vera didn’t ask what happened to her. Hamish was grateful.

“I was a bit hesitant at first, but the pack is like a family. Weird and furry, but a family non the less. Made you feel like you belonged. And, so, I stayed with my family and made that rusty house my home.”

“That’s rather adorable, actually.”

“Sure, when you forget the werewolf thing.”

“To be honest, secret societies have many things worse than werewolves.”

“Why’d you stay then? You’re not exactly a fan of the order – why not just leave.”

“My reasons are the same as yours; home and family.”

“Huh.”

Vera snorted.

“Cults like ours tend to do that. Pulling in strays with no support systems is easy, because they are easier to manipulate.”

“Are you always this cynical?”

“Always. Besides, I’m right, am I not? People who feel saved are loyal to the organization. Often to the point of foolishness.”

“No, you’re right.” He wanted to know what she had meant by strays, but didn’t ask her anything more, knowing it would backfire.

“Of course, I am.”

Hamish smiled. Of course, she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit uneventful, yes, but I'm building up to vera's story


	13. The journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a rather important part of the storyline, so do look out for it :)  
> also adult content warning!

Hamish had left the room soon after, having no excuse to stay after their conversation ended. As he crawled into bed, he wondered what Vera was doing across the hallway. Was she going to sleep already? Or was she up, planning tomorrow? Sleep didn’t come easy, and Hamish tossed and turned for most if the night.

He woke up to his shirt being tossed into his face.

“Good morning, Mr. Duke.” She was still in the t-shirt. Hamish looked away. How was she so pretty, all the time? She sat on the bed. Hamish screamed internally. Since when had Vera started to be this relaxed around him? If calling him “Mr. Duke” could be classified as relaxed. Maybe for Vera though.

“I wanted show you something. I don’t think I’m technically supposed to show you this, but since you are the knight I chose to accompany me, I think it’s ok.”

“What is it?”

“Here. This is from the diaries. I copied it.”

Hamish unfolded the paper.

_As in life, the journey to the key is more important than the goal. Most importantly, significant are the people on the journey._

“There’s absolutely no context to it. It was written in the margins.”

“It makes no sense; the only point of this journey is for us to find the damned thing.”

“Precisely. There is also nothing about actually retrieving the key, either. I was hoping that the journey being important meant that we would figure out how to find it. And the people part – I assumed that just meant it had to be the magus and a knight.”

“So, what are you thinking?”

“What if I’m the wrong magus? It doesn’t think I should be able to get it and hasn’t given us clues.”

“I don’t think so, this isn’t Cluedo, and magic is rather classy, if I’m understanding correctly what you have thought about. It wouldn’t do dropping hints around it most likely has a bigger plan or something. Besides, why would you not be fit to get the key?”

“Magic is classy in a way, yes, although a weird thing to say. But it is not an intelligent being, and there for does not actively plan. And I suppose the concern would be on whether I would use it for the right cause and not for my personal gain.”  
“You… literally are giving your life to your work in the order.”

“Yes, but I kept the Vade Macum. The key might know that.”

“You gave it away. The strength needed to resist the power lust and craziness that the book brings is huge. That tells quite a lot about your character, wouldn’t you say? If I was the key, I’d most definitely pick you.” _I’d pick you anyway._

“I… thank you, that was kind of you to say. I don’t know that the key agrees, though.”

“Let’s keep going and see what we find.”

“Fair enough. We’re going to need to be very low-key, because we are nearing the location, I believe. And we might not be the only ones.”

“Copy that.”

“Now, are you going to put your shirt on at some point so we can get going?”

“I’m going to take a quick shower.”

Hamish leaned against the bathroom wall. How much had changed in a week; the grand magus had just been sitting on his bead, only in a t-shirt. He tried hard not to think of her, in her room, possibly changing. He was failing miserably. He thought about the tattoo. When had she gotten it? What did it say? Did she have other tattoos? Well, certainly not on her legs. Hamish would most certainly know. He had looked carefully.

  
He felt a little dirty, really, thinking of her like that. Besides, she was his senior, his boss in _two organizations_ and his mentor. But, hot for teacher he was. He let his mind wonder for a second; what if life was different, and they were just a girl and a guy, who liked each other. He imagined walking with her in the park. Reading books in front of the fireplace. Sharing small glances and smiles. Kissing each other before work. Waking up next to each other on lazy Sunday mornings. Having soft morning sex. Or less soft.

Shower. Cold shower.

It didn’t help.

He kept thinking of her. Sex with her. What she would look like. What she would sound like. What she would sound like. Her.

Hamish wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t. He shouldn’t.

But he did.

He imagined her, just like they were yesterday, sitting on the bed. But instead of just giving him shit about the shirt, she actually pulled it off. And as she went on her toes to pull it off his head, he wrapped his arms around her waist. They waited for a second. They just stood there. And then the tension snapped, and they collided aggressively, their lips meeting halfway. Hamish kissed her aggressively and she bit his lip. He pushed her into the wall. He was playing with fire, and Vera Stone was no college girl. She pulled them around and pushed him on the bed, slowly crawling over him. She kissed him slowly, a teasing promise of what was coming. He snuck his hand under her shirt, but she laughed and pulled it off in one swift motion. She was beautiful, sitting on top of him, cheeks red, panting slowly. He started to roll them over, but she pushed him down.

“Don’t you dare, Mr. Duke. Don’t forget who the boss is.” He felt his hand being pinned over his head.

“Have you fucking MOVED IN THERE?”

Oh. Reality.

“Coming!”

Not really.

“Bloody hell. You can have a spa day after we get the damn key.”

“I’ll be needing one.”

“Move your skinny ass, Mr. Duke!”

Hamish dried of quickly. Rushing to get dressed, he tried to forget his earlier thoughts. _The real Vera Stone is behind that door. Focus on reality, not on things you should not be thinking about and sure as hell won’t happen._

“I’m ready to go.”

“About time.”

“Where is it precisely where we are going.”

“God only knows.”

“Didn’t help much.”

“Well, I wasn’t trying to help. If it gives some clarity, I’m assuming we will have to pull out the tent today.”

“Tent?”

“The enlargement spell, remember? Some of us actually think.”

“Right. What else do you have in there? A sword?”  
“Obviously.”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not and that really says something about your character.”

“You being stupid really says something about your character, too.”

“Hey, Ms. Teacher, asking questions is the best way to learn, you should know.”

“Getting kicked out because you are annoying makes learning harder.”

“Did you actually kick people out?”  
“Huh?”

“When you used to teach?”  
“How did you know I ran classes?”  
“You have two masters. And you run a university. I’m assuming you have done some teaching somewhere in between.”  
“Huh. Yes, you’re correct. And believe me, the people I would’ve thrown out didn’t even try to come.”

“Huh. You were that bad?”  
“I’m not bad. I just don’t have the energy to deal with bullshit. You either come to class to learn or you don’t come at all.”  
“Fair enough. What did you teach?”

“Ethics and psychology.”

“Don’t you find you’re mean teaching streak a little ironic?”

“Shut up.”

They had left the hotel and were now walking alongside the road.

“What made you pick those two topics?”

“Ethics and psychology? Well, in plain words, I’m interested in what makes people do bad things.”

“Did you get an answer?”

“I’m a bit of a relativist, quite frankly, so the answer is a bit complicated.”

“And after the bit?”  
“I think there’s a basic moral code to all of us. When we do “bad things” we know it, but we often have a gain from doing the thing, and therefore the evolutional side takes effect. It takes a person who is aware of themselves and their thoughts, who can look at all the other sides, to still make the right choice despite the desire to do wrong, and sometimes effectively work against their own best interests. Someone who understand the basics of ethics, even if they haven’t read about it.”

“I like the logic. So, you’re basically saying every time we have the desire to do wrong, we fall into a cognitive dissonance, and how we solve it depends on our morality.”

“Precisely! I wasn’t aware that you were interested in psychology.”

“I do a lot of reading.”

“So, it seems. Now, since we really don’t have anything else to do while walking, debunk Plato’s allegory of the cave.”  
“Is this your version of small talk?”

“Yup.”

“Alright.”

They fell into a soft banter about whether the cave could be exited or not. Hamish didn’t remember a time where he had had such an interesting and educated conversation with someone. For a moment, both of them forgot about the key.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, I have an interest in psychology and philosophy. and yes, what Hamish and Vera discussed are indeed, real things. :D if there's anyone else here that does philosophy, hit me up!


	14. God complex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short boi :) been stuck at work lately, again...

They were deep in the woods, god knows where. Their conversation had slowed down, and silence had taken over. Hamish felt a bit awkward. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was backpacking with a grand magus. And the fact that he had feelings for her. Or at least sexual attraction. And that she had interrupted him in the shower. Not that she knew. Hamish couldn’t remember feeling this way in a long time. Sure, after Cassie, there had been some girls, but they had been mere flings.

With Vera everything was interesting. There was never a dull moment, void of feeling and action. He felt alive with her, like he experienced everything in a more intense way; feelings were vivid and colorful. He was constantly aware of her presence, following her every move. He felt nearly obsessed, as if the woman walking in front of him was a goddess from a different realm. _It was just the fact that she was in such a high position, like she was royalty, and walking down here with him was so unimaginable for someone like her. That’s why he couldn’t quite comprehend the situation. Nothing else. Definitely nothing like how Vodel mentioned her being an enigma._

Hamish never thought he would feel like this again. After Cassie died, he vowed on making the pack his everything. Sure, he had a job at the university, but to him, it came second. He was ready to dedicate his whole life to the cause. He thought of himself as a protective figure to the younger pack members, most of whom he found nearly childlike. It was nearly exhausting at times, feeling responsible for them. He often had to remind himself that the kids were, in fact, adults, and there for responsible for themselves. Not that they always acted that way.

The Order had been nothing but and evil and mysterious force to be destroyed. It was easy to hate when you didn’t know the other side, who they were and what they were like. It was when he met Vera Stone for the first time, when he understood that, like them, the other side was full of normal, human people as well. Not monsters or horrid dictators.

It had been weird, finding the Temple Magus in their cellar. Seeing the boss of the other, evil side, there, in their house, trying to solve the awaiting crisis. On the same side with them. What a utopic moment. He hadn’t trusted her, not for a long time. But seeing another adult, intelligent and skilled, had been a refreshing feeling. He was no longer the only one who was responsible for everything; not everything rested on his shoulders. He had felt relived, even if the other adult was the evil, wicked queen of the west.

It was funny, how they had ended up in this moment, walking in the wilderness of Ontario. There had been a time he wished her dead. Now he would’ve been willing to kill for her. Not that she really needed protection.

That was something else Hamish had noticed about the woman in the past few months. Defensive spells used in fights were not uncommon to be taught in the order. But she had a skillset way beyond that – and it wasn’t just the knowledge. She was not someone who had simply been trained to have the skills to fight; she actually knew what she was doing. She wasn’t shaken by violence and pain. Hamish had watched her carefully, and quickly learned that Vera Stone had a lot more experience in battle than she led on. When an unexpected noise came from near them, her fingers immediately went to the knife on her belt. She didn’t fumble or have a hard time finding it. It was an automatic movement, which she did without thinking. She was constantly on the look-out, searching for possible threats. Such a vigilance could not be taught; it was a skill acquired with experience. Experience where you had constantly been making sure that you wouldn’t die. Constant awareness. It made Hamish wonder where she had been forced to learn that.

Vera Stone was a bundle of questions. Every time Hamish got an answer to one, a hundred followed. He had been hoping to learn new things about her while on their adventure, and instead he was just more confused. He had a feeling that this dynamic would not be ending anytime soon.

There was a sorrow in his chest when he looked at her. He had so many questions about the Grand Magus, but way more when it came to Vera Stone. He had heard the story from the commons from Jack; knew of the spell she had cast and remembered how Jack had shivered when thinking about what he had felt when inside her mind. He knew Jack wondered too, but it was really none of their business. So, neither rose the question. But Hamish wondered. A lot. She showed no emotion, but her eyes were sad and empty. When he looked at her, he felt like something was missing. Like it was all hidden away under a mask. He wondered what she thought, what she was feeling. But he kept remembering his thoughts about her being lonely. When had someone last loved her? When had she last held someone close? Trusted someone? She was an ice queen, void of showing emotion. Expect it was there. And Hamish saw it. Recognized it. Felt it. And it felt wrong. She had given her entire life to others; Hamish could remember countless times she had been ready to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. She always took the hard path, ensuring the safety of others and undermining her own wellbeing. Not once had she played the cards to her own gain, but she had been willing to give hers away. Yet she expected nothing in return.

That’s what bothered him most. She was willing to give all of her away but asked for nothing in return. What made her so altruistic? But at the same time, she was not a kind and smiley person; she acted the opposite of her actual actions.

Hamish wondered if she thought that she didn’t deserve the gratitude or if she thought she owed it to the world for some reason. But being the naïve young man, he was, Hamish thought that maybe he could help her understand things differently; see that she was worthy. He hoped that maybe he could save her. But like all naïve young men with god complex’, he was to find out that, like he himself said, people were not objects to be fixed. 


	15. Family

Hamish was a man of many talents. He could read and write well, he considered himself a great conversationalist. He was compassionate and a good leader. And really good at making drinks. Putting up tents, however? Not one of his talents. And at this rate, it would not become a new one of his.

Vera had disappeared into the woods with a quick command to put the tent up. Hamish had no idea where she had gone. And now he was staring at a weird pile of rope, poles and fabric. How did he always feel so bloody useless around the woman? He gave up trying to figure it out at-front and switched to piling similar things together.

“You’re new at this, aren’t you?” And she was back, holding a pile of chopped wood in her hands.

“That clear? Wait, where did you get the wood from?”

“Yes. Very clear. And there is a chopping block a little back from here. This _is_ a camping ground, Mr. Duke, if you recall.”  
“No, I just didn’t expect that you’d know how to chop wood.”

“Are you saying that women usually can’t chop wood?” She had a twinkle in her eye.

“No, of course not. Just wasn’t expecting you to know how to do it.”

“I’m a woman of many talents, Mr. Duke.”  
“So I see. I’m hoping that putting up tents is also one of your talents, for it certainly isn’t one of mine.”

“I can see that. But you are in luck, as it is.”

She moved over, and very quickly Hamish found himself on the other side of the tent, holding onto it.

“Where’d you learn to do this?” He wasn’t sure if asking was alright or not. He held his breath while she paused. She didn’t look up.

“My dad and I went camping when I was a kid.” Oh. Not what he was expecting.

“Oh, so you learned all of this stuff from your dad? How cool, my dad and I never did stuff like that.”

“My dad raised me like he would’ve raised a working-class son who knew how to do get things done.” She didn’t look up, but instead turned around and started moving around things aimlessly.

“Oh. My dad used to go golfing on Sundays. That probably sums him up well, if you catch my point.”

She looked over her shoulder and gave him a warm, genuine smile.

“Yes. I think I do.”

“I kind of wish he had thought me stuff like that as well. Or did stuff like that, you know?”  
“It was… nice.” Hamish couldn’t read her. “Okay, get over here.”

“Huh?”

“How are you always so confused, Mr. Duke? I’m going to teach you to put up a tent.”

“Oh! Um, sure!” Hamish wasn’t quite sure what to do with this information but followed, nonetheless.

“There are no useless skills, Mr. Duke. Besides, it’s always better to be able to do it yourself, then you won’t have to rely on someone else to do it for you.”

“I suppose so. Sounds like something you would say before making a mess of an engine of a car.” She snorted.

“I did that once, too.”

“You know how to work a car as well?”

“You seem surprised again. Anyway, didn’t at that moment. Do now.”

Hamish tried to imagine her working over a car. It didn’t fit in his head. She smirked.

“Like I said, I was raised like a working-class son.”

“So, I see. Well, if I have car troubles, I’ll know who to call.”

“You call me for car troubles, and I’ll kill you. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Wonderful. Now, hold this.”

“Sure thing.”

Hamish added this conversation to the never-ending pile of questions. But as he looked down at the woman crouching on the ground, quickly putting up the poles, he felt like he had finally touched something that was truly _her_.

“Okay, I think that we are done.”

“Oh, thank god.”

“God had nothing to do with this.” She was teasing him.

“Ah, but the Grand Magus isn’t too far off, is she?”

“Aren’t you a little kiss-ass?” She looked over the tent and smiled. Hamish felt butterflies in his stomach.

“Ah, only doing my duty as a magistratus.”

“Oh, please. Like you ever took place in the hierarchy play of the order.” She pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I suppose that’s a good thing. Independent thinkers are always a good thing.”

“I suppose that depends on who you ask.”

“Not wrong about that.”  
  


Her hair kept falling down in her face and she started putting it up again with a huff.

“What’s so interesting in me putting up my hair?”

“It’s just funny; the great Vera Stone, killer of demons, in the woods, fighting her hair.” She laughed. Hamish felt a flutter in his stomach. _Focus. She’s your boss._

“You try fighting all of this hair.”

“I have, believe me.”

“If you say that you’ve had a hippie phase with long hair, you are officially of this mission.”

“Not quite – why would that be so bad though? – but I do have two sisters. Know how to braid and all.”

“They didn’t attend Belgrave?”

“No, they are much younger than me, eighteen and sixteen. Kiara is applying to Belgrave soon, though.”

“You don’t seem too pleased about that.”

“We have three murder crises’ in one semester.”

“I suppose that’s a fair point. Our campus safety isn’t exactly safe, is it”

“Not really. We have had quite the eventful year. Is it always like this with the order?”  
“Not normally.” She sighed. “I’m really hoping that after this, things will go to normal. Normal being a very relative term.”  
“So, just normal sacrifices?”

“Like I said, relative.”

Night settled quickly, and very soon Hamish found himself sitting in front of a burning fire. It was comforting; fire always felt calming to him. Vera, opposite to him, was deep in thought. She looked mysterious in the firelight, and Hamish found himself reflecting on their earlier conversation. He wasn’t sure if he was surprised or not; Vera did tend to have a very hands-on and feet-down attitude to everything. How she had ended up, playing the queen of the order, however, that Hamish didn’t know. But thinking of a young Vera, camping with her father, made her feel very human and real. Hamish felt like he was slowly finding a path to figuring out Vera Stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vera's backstory sounds weird now, but I promise that it will make sense :) don't worry! :D  
> as always, I live off comments!
> 
> now, I wanted to know what you think; short chapters like these more often, or longer ones not-so-often?


End file.
